2017 Seminars

Former Ambassador to South Sudan and currently Deputy Director-General for African Masahiko KIYA will make presentation on “Japan’s Support for Peacebuilding in South Sudan: A Perspective from the Ground” on 28 January 2018 at Tokyo University Komaba Campus.

Presentations were made by Prof. Katsumi Ishizuka of Kyoei University on Europe, Mr. Icchiku Yamada of the University of Tokyo on Sri Lanka, Mr. Satoru Miyazawa, (UNHCR) on Timor-Leste, and Prof. Misako Takizawa of Obirin University Africa, and commented by Mr. Kazuo Takahashi, Director of Japan Association for United Nations Studies.

At the GPAJ Annual Conference held on 2 December 2017, three presentations were made by Ms. Ayano Matudo (Japan International Cooperation Agency: JICA), Prof. Miki Honda of Hosei University and Prof. Yasunobu Sato of the University of Tokyo and commented by Prof. Naoki Ishihara of Ritsumeikan University.

Takazawa’s of the Hiroshima Peacebuilders Center found that, while many scholars had argued “R2P’s setback” after the Libya incident of 2011, their views mostly formed by a partial perspective focusing on “forcible measures” under “Pillar Three (timely and decisive response)” of the R2P.

Former SRSG Yasushi Akashi recalled his determination to saw “the strong seeds of democracy, then let people of Cambodia grow it,” while Ambassador Yoshifumi Okamura pointed out the cases where the reality in the field of peacekeeping is not reflected in the considerations at the Security Council.

Higashi identified challenges caused by POC, Hisamura presented field perspective, Takazawa theorized the crossroads between Protection of Civilians (POC) mandates and R2P, and Tsuyada explained MOFA`s assistance in capacity building of peacekeeping personnel, while Miwa revealed the dilemma in mandate formulation and implementation.

Graduate students who participated in the annual meeting of the Global Peacebuilding of Japan found the presentation made by Professor Takayuki Mizuno of Kanda University of International Relations best in terms of its content and clarity of presentation.

Former Admiral and Professor of the National Defense Academy Takashi Genda explained the DPRK relies mostly in the development of nuclear and missile weapons for achieving the parity with the United States, its ultimate enemy, based on the Mutual Assurance for Destruction (MAD).

・Yamamoto, Raymond. (2016). The Securitization of Japan’s ODA: New Strategies in Changing Regional and Domestic Contexts. In Asplund, A. and Söderberg, M. eds. Japanese Development Cooperation: The Making of an Aid Architecture Pivoting to Asia. 1st ed. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 72-89.